Pathfinder Tales--Reaper's Eye

by Richard A. Knaak

  She pointed to an opening into darkness and directed her glowstone onto a barnacle-encrusted ladder. Apparently only the hull had the special protective coating.

  Jekka tapped his chest and pointed into the hold, letting her know he intended to lead, then brandished his own glowstone.

  She almost objected, then decided he was at least communicating this time, and remembered he was both an experienced warrior and excited to be searching a ship made by his own people. She allowed him to swim in the lead, staying a few feet back from the swish of his whiplike tale.

  Most of the hold’s contents had shifted to starboard. Her light played over brown and green weeds dusted by occasional splotches of red and blue. They obscured the hold’s contents in a soft, furry blanket.

  Jekka floated above it all, shining his own light on something to the right, then pointed at a long segmented worm with pincers. Mirian’s father had always called them rot worms, though to Mirian they looked more like oversized centipedes. Their bite was deadly poisonous and they tended to be aggressive when disturbed, so she moved quickly.

  The arm-length creature shifted away at Jekka’s spear thrust, rearing up and stirring the water with its legs. Mirian cut it in half with her cutlass. It floated apart, wriggling in its death throes.

  Jekka brushed it out of the way and shined her light on the patch of growth where the rot worm had been hidden. It didn’t seem to have any nest mates.

  She floated on with Jekka, imagining the hold moving with robed lizardfolk, perhaps lashing down that stack of crates over there, or walking on through the narrow archway into the next chamber.

  Jekka stopped beside three large chests resting against the hull, each rotten with age. As Mirian played her light over the area, tiny crustaceans swam frantically for darkness. Little silver fish flashed away in alarm.

  Mirian signaled Jekka to keep watch and he turned from her to survey their surroundings.

  She had never seen a lizardfolk chest before, but this one proved little different from those built by humans, save that the lock mechanism was inset along the top right. That in itself was of interest. She made a mental note to record the information in her Pathfinder journal.

  Normally, she would have simply smashed open a chest this old and rotten, but it was such an odd, rare find she wanted to handle it with care.

  The bronze lock was green with corrosion and looked as though it had been designed to accommodate a cylindrical mechanism rather than a key. It couldn’t possibly be picked, but there were other ways. She removed a small pry bar from her pack and set to work on the hinges.

  The tool’s teeth sank easily into the rotten wood, and in moments both hinges were floating free. After that, the lid came up easily. Mirian drifted back as she lifted it. There was no telling what might come crawling out.

  Nothing did.

  She again swam closer, her light settling on a rotted wooden frame inside the chest that kept a dozen blue cylindrical bottles upright and separate. Five were broken along their necks, but the others, though empty, looked intact—more tube than jar, with a peculiar fluted opening at the top.

  Mirian played the light over the inside, then carefully lifted one of the vessels free and drew it closer it for examination.

  Jekka drifted beside her. His long, forked tongue flickered with excitement.

  She looked at him questioningly.

  “Drinking glass! My people!” His head cocked in interest.

  Mirian handed it to him to examine, then signed for him to put it in his pack. They could spend months clearing this wreck. It was probably time to fetch Rendak and Gombe.

  Desna had truly blessed them. The wreck was a fantastic find. There was no telling what sort of oddities might be left aboard, let alone their value and historical significance. As a salvager, her livelihood depended upon scavenging sites like this. But as a Pathfinder, she was dedicated to uncovering the secrets of Golarion’s past to preserve and disseminate knowledge. If the magical wind mechanism built into this ship could be understood and replicated, it might very well change the future of sea travel.

  Jekka pointed to the chest next to the one they’d opened. He clearly wanted to see what was inside.

  She decided to humor him and signaled for him to guard once more.

  The hinges on the second chest were even more worn, and yielded with no resistance.

  Within stood twelve rows of sculpted lizardfolk heads fashioned from a thin metal alloy and inlaid with jewels. Each eye socket was set with amber stones, the figures themselves rich with the minute symbols of Jekka’s people.

  The sight so thrilled her blood brother that his frill rose, and Mirian had to remind him to keep watch, though she did acquiesce to setting all two dozen of the sculptures within her pack.

  The haversacks they wore had been gifts from Ivrian’s mother, and were ensorcelled to contain more space on the inside than was apparent without. All of the sculptures fit easily without altering the haversack’s weight in the slightest, another wonderful feature.

  Jekka signed to indicate they should open the third chest, but she shook her head and pointed to the surface. Then she looked back to the chests and smiled, trying to reassure him they’d come back for all of it.

  Mirian led the way out. Jekka trailed some length after, seemingly reluctant to leave.

  Sooner than expected she found the anchor line and, looming above, the dark bowline of the Daughter of the Mist.

  Her hands closed on the familiar rungs of the ladder built into the vessel’s side. She felt the magical gills fade the moment she thrust her head above the water and breathed deeply of the crisp salty air.

  All was silhouettes and shadows against the lesser darkness of the sky, but she thought she made out Gombe’s lean outline near the ladder. She grinned at him as she stepped forward, slinging her bag off her shoulder.

  “You won’t believe what we’ve found,” she told him.

  A man with a sword stepped around Gombe, the point of the weapon at his throat. “I’m all ears.”

  THE PATHFINDER TALES LIBRARY

  Called to Darkness by Richard Lee Byers

  Winter Witch by Elaine Cunningham

  The Wizard’s Mask by Ed Greenwood

  Prince of Wolves by Dave Gross

  Master of Devils by Dave Gross

  Queen of Thorns by Dave Gross

  King of Chaos by Dave Gross

  Lord of Runes by Dave Gross

  Gears of Faith by Gabrielle Harbowy

  Pirate’s Honor by Chris A. Jackson

  Pirate’s Promise by Chris A. Jackson

  Pirate’s Prophecy by Chris A. Jackson

  Beyond the Pool of Stars by Howard Andrew Jones

  Through the Gate in the Sea by Howard Andrew Jones

  Plague of Shadows by Howard Andrew Jones

  Stalking the Beast by Howard Andrew Jones

  Firesoul by Gary Kloster

  Reaper’s Eye by Richard A. Knaak

  The Worldwound Gambit by Robin D. Laws

  Blood of the City by Robin D. Laws

  Song of the Serpent by Hugh Matthews

  Hellknight by Liane Merciel

  Nightglass by Liane Merciel

  Nightblade by Liane Merciel

  City of the Fallen Sky by Tim Pratt

  Liar’s Blade by Tim Pratt

  Liar’s Island by Tim Pratt

  Liar’s Bargain by Tim Pratt

  Reign of Stars by Tim Pratt

  Bloodbound by F. Wesley Schneider

  The Crusader Road by Michael A. Stackpole

  Death’s Heretic by James L. Sutter

  The Redemption Engine by James L. Sutter

  Shy Knives by Sam Sykes

  Forge of Ashes by Josh Vogt

  Skinwalkers by Wendy N. Wagner

  Starspawn by Wendy N. Wagner

  The Dagger of Trust by Chris Willrich

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Richard A. Knaak is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author
of The Legend of Huma, WoW: Wolfheart, and nearly fifty other novels and numerous short stories, including works in such series as Warcraft, Diablo, Dragonlance, Age of Conan, the Iron Kingdoms, and his creator-owned Dragonrealm. He has scripted comics and manga, such as the top-selling Sunwell trilogy, and has also written background material for games. His works have been published worldwide in many languages.

  In addition to Reaper’s Eye, his most recent releases include Black City Saint, the first in a new urban fantasy series from Pyr Books; “Wyrmbane” for the Iron Kingdoms; and The Horned Blade, the final novel in the Turning War trilogy for the Dragonrealm.

  Currently splitting his time between Chicago and Arkansas, he can be reached through his website at richardaknaak.com. While he is unable to respond to every email, he does read them. Join his mailing list for e-announcements of upcoming releases and appearances, or join him on Facebook and Twitter. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Inner Sea Region

  Mendev and the Worldwound

  1. The Rescue

  2. The Artifact

  3. The Witch

  4. The Client

  5. A Pact Made

  6. Whirlwind Journey

  7. The Wolf

  8. Kenabres

  9. Harricka Morn

  10. The Trail Beneath

  11. Witch in the Worldwound

  12. Fugitive

  13. Savage Salvation

  14. Hunted

  15. Plans Gone Awry

  16. Hunted and Herded

  17. Death in the Dark

  18. The Wolves

  19. Spawn

  20. What Lies Beneath

  21. The Traitor

  22. In Uhl-Adanar

  23. Search for the Tomb

  24. The Guardians

  25. Toy

  26. Witch’s Triumph

  27. The Reaper

  28. Fear and the Reaper

  29. Demons

  30. Escape

  Acknowledgments

  Glossary

  Excerpt from Pathfinder Tales: Through the Gate in the Sea

  The Pathfinder Tales Library

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  PATHFINDER TALES: REAPER’S EYE

  Copyright © 2016 by Paizo Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem logo, Pathfinder, the Pathfinder logo, and Pathfinder Society are registered trademarks of Paizo Inc.; Pathfinder Accessories, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Battles, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Cards, Pathfinder Flip-Mat, Pathfinder Map Pack, Pathfinder Module, Pathfinder Pawns, Pathfinder Player Companion, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and Pathfinder Tales are trademarks of Paizo Inc.

  Maps by Crystal Frasier and Rob Lazzaretti

  A Tor Book

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  First Edition: December 2016

  eISBN 9780765384379

  First eBook edition: December 2016